In a semiconductor fabrication process, a silicon wafer or the like is subjected to various heat treatments in the process. These heat treatments require strict temperature control and a heat treatment atmosphere is required to be a clean atmosphere which is free from particles, such as fine dusts.
For this purpose, a heater used for the heat treatments is required to provide uniform heating performance and superior temperature rising and decreasing control capabilities and to satisfy the conditions, for example, non-emission of polluting matters such as particles.
As an example of the heater for manufacturing semiconductors, there is a heater in which a heating element is sealed in a support member, such as a quartz glass member or the like, together with a non-oxidizing atmosphere gas.
As a heater which is considerably suitable for the manufacture of semiconductors, the present inventors once developed a heater for a semiconductor heat treatment apparatus, wherein fine carbon single fibers are bound into a plurality of carbon fiber bundles, which are woven into a carbon wire heating element sealed in the support member, such as the quartz glass member or the like, together with the non-oxidizing atmosphere gas. The heater is already proposed in Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2000-173750 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2001-332373 (Patent Document 2).
Now, referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, the heater as shown in Patent Document 1 will be described. This heater 50 is arranged such that a heating surface 50a is formed in the shape of a rectangle plate and a carbon wire heating element CW is enclosed in a quartz glass support member 51. A substantially hollow space portion is formed around the periphery of the above-mentioned carbon wire heating element CW, and the above-mentioned quartz glass support member 51 has a unified structure except for this space portion.
As the above-mentioned carbon wire heating element CW, one that is knitted in the shape of a wire using a plurality of bundles of fiber bundles in which a plurality of carbon fibers are bundled is used, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the above-mentioned carbon wire heating element CW is arranged at a surface of the quartz glass support member 51 in a so-called zigzag form.
Further, a tip of the carbon wire heating element CW is pulled out almost perpendicularly to a heating surface 50a, and is connected to a Mo terminal wire 53 through a carbon terminal 52. These are arranged in a quartz glass pipe 54. The Mo terminal wire 53 is connected to two Mo external connection wires 56 through a Mo foil 55. In addition, the Mo foil 55 is pinch sealed.
Further, the heater as shown in Patent Document 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. In a quartz glass support member 61 of a plate-like heater 60, a heating surface is circular and plate-like, and the carbon wire heating elements CW are wired at a space portion 61a inside the support member 61 in a so-called zigzag pattern form. Further, it is arranged to be fused to and integral with this quartz glass support member 61 except for this space portion 61a. Further, sealing terminals 62 are connected to both ends of the carbon wire heating element CW, respectively, and an inert gas is introduced and sealed in the above-mentioned space portion 61a. 
Thus, the above-mentioned carbon wire heating elements as shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have small thermal capacity and are excellent in rise and fall temperature characteristics compared with a metal heating element etc., and are excellent also in high temperature durability in a non-oxidizing atmosphere. Since it is made by knitting a plurality of fiber bundles of thin carbon single fibers, it is sufficiently flexible in shape, and has an advantage that it can easily be made into various structures and shapes compared with a heating element constituted only by carbon materials.
Therefore, the heater in which this heating element is sealed together with the non-oxidizing gas in the clean heat-resistant support member with a high purity quartz glass member etc. does not generate particle etc., and it is very suitable as the heater for the manufacture of semiconductors, as described above.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-173750
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-332373